The Red Bulls may have been bitterly disappointed in an early playoff exit, winning the Eastern Conference only to get bounced in their first-round matchup with San Jose, but the business side of the club seems to be humming.

They’re still in negotiations on a new TV deal, with their preference now to actually produce their own content and sell it at a profit. And they’ve also seen their merchandising skyrocket with the opening of Red Bull Arena, a first-place regular-season finish and the addition of Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez.

According to Antonio Zea, director of soccer for adidas America, Red Bull jersey sales increased 104 percent from last year to this year. They ranked just fifth in MLS in jersey sales in 2009, but jumped to second this year.

They’re hoping to see a jump in profits from the TV side next year as well.

They just finished a local deal with MSG that in essence paid no rights fees. They’re still negotiating with MSG for a new deal, but a team source said at this point they would actually prefer to produce their own content and sell it, a model that has been proving profitable for Chivas USA. In they do that, look for my9 (WWOR) as a possibility.

If I can chat with GM Erik Soler, I’ll see if he has anything new this week.

*** In other off-field news, Dietmar Beiersdorfer said in a German-language interview that the team plans to build a training facility with five fields _ one indoors _ that would also house the academy programs.

“We are strengthening the infrastructure. We build our own training ground with five squares, one is under cover. This makes us more independent. Especially in the junior work,” Beiersdorfer said, according to a Google translation. He also expressed confidence in the team’s foothold against a potential Cosmos team.

“We can defend ourselves anyway, so we welcome the competition. It is up to us to use the advantage to stay in New York the number one. To Cosmos or any other club pass away, takes up a few more years. Until then we will have left their mark, our club established itself as the best in the east coast and built a solid fan base.”